Pliers



W. HEIMANN July 22, 1969 PLIERS Filed July 20, 1967 In veptor:

United States Patent 3,456,349 PLIERS Werner Heimann, Warendorferstrasse 7, Oelde, Westphalia, Germany Filed July 20, 1967, Ser. No. 654,789 Int. Cl. A61c 3/14, 3/16 U.S. Cl. 3262 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention The present invention relates to pliers in general and more particularly to pliers for use in dental applications. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a tooth-extracting forceps.

In customary forceps used for the extraction of teeth the two jaws which engage the tooth to be removed are mounted for turning movement relative to one another about a pivot. Inasmuch as the inner faces of the respective jaws, that is the tooth-engaging surfaces thereof, are inwardly recessed, manipulation of the forceps in a sense tending to move the jaws together to thereby grip a tooth for extraction causes initial engagement of opposite sides of the tooth by the free edges of the two jaws. It must be recalled, in this context, that tooth-extracting forceps cannot be applied from the side of the tooth but must be placed over the tooth from the crown thereof, this being the reason for the particular type of engagement which occurs in the forceps known in this field. The result of this particular type of engagement, which clearly is only a line engagement, is frequently splintering of the tooth; in fact, there is always a danger that the tooth will completely break off, generally along the lines at which it is contacted by the jaws.

Another disadvantage associated with the dental forceps constructions known from the prior art is the fact that, because of the particular way in which they must be applied to each tooth, and because of the fact that the jaws must be pivotable relative to one another in the manner described before, the pivoting axis is usually located above the jaws, the term above here denoting a side opposite that at which the free edges of the jaws are located. This results in a relatively great height or width of the forceps in the direction normal to these free edges of the jaws, that is in the direction normal to the surface of the tooth crown when the forceps is in use. This, however, frequently makes it difficult to properly insert the forceps into the mouth of the patient, particularly under circumstances where the patient is unable to open his mouth completely, for instance if an inflammation of the gums should prevent this. Also, the lower molars which are usually inwardly inclined with reference to the mouth cavity, are difficult to engage with this type of forceps and, if in addition the patient has the aforementioned difiiculty in opening his mouth widely, the extraction of these molars become impossible.

It has therefore long been recognized that there exists a need for an improved tooth extracting forceps not subject to these disadvantages. Heretofore, however, no such forceps has become known.

Summary of the invention The present invention provides an extracting forceps which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages.

3,455,349 Patented July 22, 1969 More particularly the present invention provides an extraction forceps whose height or depth in the area of the jaws is considerably smaller than what is known from the prior art, thus making possible the insertion of the forceps into the mouth of a patient under conditions where this is not feasible with prior-art constructions.

The extracting forceps according to the present invention permits engagement of the tooth to be extracted in direct surface-to-surface contact between the tooth and the two jaws.

In accordance with one feature of my invention I provide a pliers, and particularly a tooth-extracting forceps, which comprises an elongated handle, a first jaw and a second jaw. The elongated handle has two spaced end sections and the first jaw is provided on one of these end sections and projects therefrom to one side of the handle transversely of the elongation of the same. The second jaw also projects to the same side of the handle and also transversely of the elongation of the same. Additionally, the second jaw is slidably mounted on the handle intermediate the end sections thereof for sliding movement toward and away from the first jaw between an operative position in which the jaws are in close proximity, and an inoperative position in which the jaws are spaced from one another.

This construction according to the present invention eliminates the need for pivotal movement of the jaws relative to one another and substitutes for such pivotal movement a translatory movement in which the movable jaw is reciprocable in direction normal or substantially normal to a central plane bisecting the cavity defined between the two jaws when the same are close together and in operative position. Thus, this extracting forceps according to the present invention permits surface-to-surface engagement between the inner abutment faces of the respective jaws and the outer surface of the tooth to be extracted and such engagement can take place over the substantially entire height of the exposed tooth and/or the entire height of the respective surfaces on the jaws. Furthermore, with my novel forceps disclosed herein I have provided the opportunity for conforming the inwardly facing abutment faces of the jaws to the anatomical contour of the tooth to be extracted which was not heretofore possible.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic side-elevational view of a forceps in accordance with my present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 as seen in the direction of the arrow II of that figure.

Description of the preferred embodiment Discussing the drawing now in detail, it will be seen that my novel forceps of pliers disclosed herein comprise an elongated handle 1 which has a rear end portion or end section and a front end section. The front end section carries or is formed with a first jaw 2 which extends to one side of the handle 1 transversely of the elongation of the same. A second jaw 3 is rearwardly spaced from the first jaw 2 and includes an extension portion 4 which extends in substantial parallelism with a side face of the handle 1, as is clearly evident from FIGS. 1 and 2 both. The extension portion 4 is slidably secured to the handle 1. and in the illustrated embodiment this is accomplished by having a forked member extend on the side face of the handle 1 in the direction of elongation of the latter outwardly spaced from this side face with which it defines a gap. This forked member 5 may be secured to the handle 1 or it may be integral therewith. The extension portion 4 is slidably received in the gap between the member 5 and the side face of the handle 1 and it is retained in this gap by being provided with a longitudinally extending slot 6 into which a pin or projection 7 secured to or integral with member 5, projects, thus permitting relative movement of the member 4 and the handle 1 while preventing undesired separation of the two. It is clear, of course, that this arrangement can be modified, for instance reversed by providing the pin 7 on the member 4 and the slot or slots on the member 5.

That end of the portion 4 which faces away from the jaw 3 has secured thereto an actuating lever 8 which is pivotable about a shaft 9 constituting a pivot axis. Advantageously, the lever 8 will be bifurcated at its front portion as is clearly evident from FIG. 2, so that the rear end of the portion 4 will be received in the bifurcation and will be penetrated by the shaft 9, whose ends are lodged in the front portion of the lever 8. A connecting lever 10 is pivoted to the actuating lever 8 intermediate the ends of the same and further to the rearward end section of the handle 1, and this is both clearly shown in the drawing and an expedient which is so common that a. more detailed description and an identification by means of reference numerals is not believed to be necessary. The operation of my novel forceps will be quite evident from the drawing. Clearly, when the actuating lever 8 is moved in the direction toward the handle 1, that .is when the operator places his hand around the rear end section of the handle 1 and around the rear end of the actuating lever 8 and exerts a pressure tending to move the actuating lever 8 closer towards the side face of the handle 1, this will result in a forward movement of the portion 4 and the jaw 3 associated therewith, in the direction towards the jaw 2. By way of illustration a tooth is shown in chain lines in FIG. 1 as being received between the jaws 2 and 3 and it is clear that the tooth will be engaged over the entire height of the jaws. It is further clear, particularly from FIG. 1, that the inner abutment faces of the jaws 2 and 3 can with this arrangement be so configurated as to correspond to the anatomical contour of the tooth which is to be engaged and extracted.

It is still to be pointed out that the maximum width W, of the lever 10 is substantially smaller than the maximum width W of the handle 1 and of the actuating lever 8. This is clearly shown in FIG. 2 where these dimensions are indicated by the double-headed arrows. Thus, the lever 10 is located so far inwardly of the outer edges of the handle 1 and the actuating lever 8, respectively, that any danger of portions of the hand of the operator becoming caught between the respective elements when the actuating lever 8 is being moved towards the handle 1, is avoided.

It will of course be understood that the embodiment illustrated herein is by way of example only and that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. It will be further understood that the reference to a tooth-extracting forceps is also by way of indication a particular field of utility, but is in no way intended to exclude other applications. Clearly, a pliers such as is disclosed herein can find many uses in fields other than dentistry, because of the particularly firm grip which it permits on an object which is to be grasped, and because it solves space problems which are insoluble with pliers wherein the jaws are pivoted for movement relative to one another rather than performing a translatory movement as in the present case.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of pliers, differing from the types described above.

'While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a tooth-extracting forceps, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

1. A pliers, particularly a tooth-extracting forceps, comprising in combination, an elongated handle having two spaced end sections; a first jaw provided on one of said end sections and projecting therefrom to one side of said handle transversely of the elongation of the same; a second jaw also projecting to said one side of said handle transversely of the elongation of the same and being slidably mounted on said handle intermediate said end sections for sliding movement toward and away from said first jaw between an operative position in which said jaws are in close proximity, and an inoperative position, said second jaw including an elongated guide portion extending along said one side of said handle; a portion rigid with said handle and projecting also to said one side of said handle and defining a channel extending in longitudinal direction of said handle, said guide portion of said second jaw being located and guided in said channel; and means interconnecting said guide portion and said channel portion for said sliding movement of said guide portion and said second jaw between said positions, whereby during such movement the other side of said handle is free of any moving parts.

2. A pliers, as defined in claim 1, wherein said jaws comprise respective engaging surfaces which face one another and which, in said operative position of said jaws, together define a cavity, said second jaw being mounted for sliding movement in a direction substantially normal to a plane bisecting said cavity transversely of the elongation of said handle.

3. A pliers, as defined in claim 1, wherein one of said portions is provided with an elongated slot extending in longitudinal direction of said handle, and the other of said portions is provided with a projection received and guided in said slot for longitudinal movement therein.

4. A pliers, as defined in claim 3, wherein said one portion is said guide portion, and wherein said other portion is said handle portion.

5. A pliers, as defined in claim 1, and further comprising actuating means operatively associated with said second jaw for effecting said movement thereof.

6. A pliers, as defined in claim 5, wherein said actuating means comprises an actuating lever movable from a first position to a second position, and a linkage arrangement associated with said actuating lever and said second jaw for effecting movement of the latter toward said operative position in response to movement of said actuating lever from said first position toward said second position.

7. A pliers, as defined in claim 5, wherein said second jaw has a leading end portion closer to and a trailing end portion farther fromsaid first jaw; and wherein said actuating means comprises an actuating lever having a rear end and a front end pivotally connected to said trailing end portion of said second jaw, and a linkage member pivotally connected to the other of said end sections and to said actuating lever intermediate said front and rear ends thereof.

8. A pliers, as defined in claim 7, wherein said actuating lever has a face juxtaposed with said surface of said handle in response to actuation of said actuating lever in a sense effecting movement of said second jaw toward said first jaw, said face and said surface both having a References Cited predetermined width as seen in direction transversely of the elongation of said handle, and wherein said linking UNITED ST ATES PATENTS member is located intermediate said face and surface and 1,392,651 10/1921 MmPBY 81362 XR has a width which is substantially less than said pre- 5 2,563,920 8/1951 Chnstensen determined width as seen in said direction. 2,630,035 3/1953 ZaZdTZYk XR 9. A pliers, as defined in claim 2, wherein said cavity is RO PESHOCK, Primary Examiner contoured so as to have a cross-sectional outline substan- U S C1 X R tially corresponding to the cross-sectional outline of an object to be received in said cavity. 10 81-362 

